HABITS OF SLIM FIT LIVING: HOW I LOST 50 POUNDS

In 2015, I lost 50lbs and my wife lost 25lbs using the principles I teach. Since then, I’ve developed a passion for helping people lose weight and keep it off. For many people, losing weight does much more than taking the weight off. It boosts their self-esteem, helps them to become more confident and believe in themselves that they can do whatever they set their mind to do. In my practice, I coach many of the people I serve on how to lose weight. What I teach them is not a diet but a lifestyle change. I believe diets don’t work. I focus teaching them a new lifestyle that they can live for the rest of your life that will allow them to enjoy the good foods they love, lose weight, keep it off, and be healthy at the same time.

Below I share with you my habits of slim fit living. They are organized into three groups. Group 1, the slim habits, are the habits that help people to lose weight. Group 2, the Fit habits, help people stay fit in all the four dimensions of health. Group 3, the living habits empower people to make being slim fit a lifestyle.

GROUP 1: SLIM HABITS

To succeed with your slim fit goals, you must do the right thing, at the right time, in the right way.

WHAT TO EAT

Eat real food. Ditch processed foods! Make it yourself if you can. When you eat out, eat healthy foods.

No snacks unless you are truly physically hungry. Note that most people are only truly hungry twice per day. A few are hungry three times per day. If you are hungry beyond three times per day, talk to your doctor.

Eat only what you absolutely love. Become a picky eater. Eat only what you feel like eating when you are hungry.

Drink water. At least 2 liters or eight 8 oz glasses per day. I drink about 3 liters of water per day. If you have heart failure or any other chronic conditions, talk to your doctor.

Drink Orange Water. Drink 1 liter of orange water between 9:00 am and noon. Eat lunch if hungry. Orange water is a mixture of half a cup of orange juice in one liter of water.

Don’t drink your calories. No juices, sodas, beer. Wine if you must because of its health benefits.

Eat low-carb, high-fat meals. Eat with carbohydrates in the minority, not majority. A low-carb diet doesn’t mean high protein diet. You minimize carbohydrates and make up the difference with healthy fats. Fat is good for you. You can eat fat and get thin. Fat is tasty and helps you stay full longer! Plus, research has shown that fat is healthy. The problem is carbohydrates

Be careful with white foods. Grains, potatoes, pasta, or sweets (sugars). They make you gain weight.

Read the labels. If it says, “fat-free”, “low-fat”, or “light”, stay away from it.

Eat more fiber! High fiber foods help you get full quick and stay longer. They also prevent diabetes, heart disease, colon cancer, etc.

Eat proteins with each meal. It helps you get full and stay full longer.

Eat a small dinner, if hungry.

WHEN TO EAT (and when not to eat)

Intuitive Eating

Eat only when you’re physically hungry. Don’t eat when you are not! Eat at a level 7.

Stop when satisfied or comfortably full. Eat until you are 80% full. Not 100% full. Your stomach is the size of a loosely clenched fist. Don’t eat to prevent hunger. Hunger is not bad. You can always eat later when you truly feel hungry.

Brief Mealtime Window (BMW): Eat within a brief mealtime window. Eat all your meals within a 1 to 7-hour window. Don’t grace all day or spread your meals out. Pick a window, like 5 hours and stick to it.

Fasting. 1) Intermittent fasting and 2) longer fasting. Intermittent fasting was a key part of my 50lb weight loss. I have been fasting since 2002. Fasting is great for your health. Can you fast? If you are healthy, you can. Millions of people around the world do it every year! However, you can fast and still gain weight if you binge-eat at the end of the fast.

Many people eat breakfast when they wake up, lunch because it is noon or 1:00 pm and dinner because the time is between 5-6pm. They don’t listen to their bodies to tell them when they are hungry. The slim fit paradigm shift is to start listening to your body and eating only when you are physically hungry.

HOW TO EAT

Mindful Eating

Savor your food. 1) Make eating an enjoyable experience. 2) Start with your favorite foods first. Eat one food at a time. 3) Eat with your five senses: Eat mindfully. To learn more about how to savor your food, read here.

Eat slowly by doing the following two.

Take 20 minutes to finish eating. It takes at least 20 minutes for your body to tell the satiety center in your hypothalamus that it is full. If it helps, take a break in the middle of your meal. Don’t go for seconds until it has been at least 25 minutes since you started eating.

Chew, chew, chew. Chew 20-30 times. Move food from one side of the mouth to the other.

With health and weight loss, three things are important: when you eat, what you eat, and how you eat.

GROUP 2: FIT HABITS

Physical Fitness: Get moving, exercise every day. Remember, You lose weight in the kitchen and tone it in the gym. Sleep and rest. Take a nap, if you can. If you can take a 30-minute power nap in the middle of the day, do it. Don’t exceed an hour, otherwise, you may find it difficult to sleep at night.

Psychological fitness: Do self-care. Stress less, sleep more. Foster a healthy emotional and psychological life. Do emotional and psychological first aid.

GROUP 3: LIVING HABITS

Hang-out with friends who care about their health and are doing the things that help them to be slim fit.

In conclusion, Weight loss comes down to healthy eating habits, portion control, healthy exercise habits, and taking care of yourself. The rest is details. As a primary care physician, I tell my patient’s this: They can HEAL themselves through Healthy Eating & Active Lifestyle. I believe the same thing for you!